The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Manmad and Bhusawal have closed two criminal cases against five madrasa teachers who were arrested in May 2023 and jailed for four weeks on allegations of trafficking 59 children from Bihar to Maharashtra, The Indian Express reported.
As per the reports, GRP officers said the cases were closed in March this year and described the case as a ‘misunderstanding’.
Pertietnly, 59 children aged between 8 and 17 were travelling from Araria district in Bihar to Pune and Sangli to study Islamic theology in madrasas on May 30, 2023. Acting on information from a senior officer linked to the juvenile justice board in Delhi, the Railway Board, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and an NGO intervened at Bhusawal and Manmad stations, “rescued” the group of children and claimed that they were being trafficked for child labour.
Subsequently, the teachers who were accompanying the students were arrested on the spot. The arrested teachers were identified as Mohammed Anjur Alam Mohammed Syed Ali (34), Saddam Hussain Siddiqui (23), Noman Alam Siddiqui (28), Ezaj Ziyabbul Siddiqui (40), and Mohammed Shahnawaz Haroon (22). They were booked under sections 370 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The officials housed the students in shelter homes in Nashik and Bhusawal for 12 days. However, angry parents demanded that their children be returned, which prompted the Nashik district administration to escort them back to Bihar.
After a thorough investigation, GRP officers travelled to Araria to confirm the credentials of the accused and the children. They also inspected the madrasa where the children were supposed to go as per assertion. However, the officials ended up concluding the case and stated that there was no human trafficking and filed a ‘C-Summary’ closure report before the court.
Despite having no criminal record, the official’s bogus accusations have had a serious negative impact on the Islamic religious teachers. “Though people knew the cases were false, the FIRs and arrests changed perceptions, causing us social and psychological suffering,” Sangli resident Mohammed Shahnawaz Haroon said in sharing his experience.
Another teacher, Saddam Hussain Siddiqui while recounting the incident stated, “I had Aadhaar cards of all the children and offered police to contact with their parents via video call for clarity, despite that they demanded an authority letter from the local sarpanch or parents, and we didn’t have which led our arrest.
However, a senior GRP officer stated, “We registered FIRs based on the complaints by RPF officials and NGOs. We could not refuse to file an FIR on the suspected human trafficking of 59 children. Once we were sure no offense occurred, we dropped all charges.”
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